INFINITE CIRCUS- Life advice from a girl, who’s just trying to figure it all out

Life’s a balancing act.
We’ve all heard that. But what does that really mean? What is balance? For it cannot be defined specifically, as each individual finds balance in a unique way.

To make this easier, let’s visualize. Visualize a giant CIRCUS TENT! Now, step inside, and look up to find a magnificent tightrope. Do you see it?
Okay, now let’s try and walk across that tightrope. It’s tricky! But it’s fun, isn’t it?!

Alright, so as we’re walking along, let’s experiment with how much we can do while still staying balanced. Can we look around to make sure every one is watching us? Or will we fall? Can we bring all of our material and emotional attachments with us on the rope? Or will we fall? Can we drink a bottle of wine while we walk? Or will we fall? Where’s the balance?
Perhaps a quick glance and a wave at the Circus audience won’t make us wobble at all! And maybe a backpack full of keepsakes and necessities isn’t to much to bring along either. But what about the emotional attachments? The guilt. The anger. THE DOUBT. Can we walk that tightrope, knowing that we DOUBT OURSELVES? How far will we get? Hmmm. Okay, so how about some liquid courage? Can we drunkenly stumble our way along the rope? No? Well perhaps we can sip and savor that glass of wine was we go. Find the balance. Discover it! Mindfulness and moderation in every choice we make, leads to great rewards. With every step we take, we are learning.

Now, how about relationships? We don’t want to walk this tightrope alone. So maybe we want our lover, our mother, our best friend, and our children, to walk this rope with us. Is this really going to make the balancing act more fun? Will it make it easier? Great, now we’re responsible for not only OURSELVES, but for THEM not falling as well. This sounds stressful.

But, here’s a secret. All those other people, they all have THEIR OWN tightrope. Their OWN circus. Their OWN show. So why are we making them apart of OURS? Are we not ENOUGH to go at it alone? Is our one-man-show not exciting enough? Cue the need for drama…

See, by allowing ourselves to be THE STAR OF OUR OWN SHOW, and letting everyone else do the same, we eliminate the DRAMA. And let’s be honest, wouldn’t life be more fun if it were more of a comedy? By letting go of the drama outside of ourselves, we find the peace from within ourselves. We find ease, contentment, and joy!
How can we make sure that our tightrope is free of doubt, stress, attachments, Etc. if we have no idea what each added person is bringing with them? It’s IMPOSSIBLE.

We must ELIMINATE EVERYONE from our tightrope, and focus on ourselves. That is the only thing we are in control of, and we’d be damned if we were to let another persons thoughts, things, or actions cause US to fall to our death. It’s not WORTH IT. Does this sound selfish? To not allow anyone to join us on our walk, to not let anyone else control our own show? To make it all about US?

Well, how would it be serving anyone else, to have them walk OUR tightrope, instead of THEIR OWN? Now THAT would be SELFISH.
And here’s another secret, their tightrope runs PARALLEL to our own. Well, look at that! No one’s on our tightrope, which means no one’s in front of us, and no one’s behind us. They are all BESIDE US. And guess what that means? Maybe we could all hold onto hands….
Now THAT would bring balance, for we would all be holding each other up!

So, now we are alone, on this tightrope. Walking along, holding hands, and bringing only what we know won’t throw us off balance. Awesome. But, how must we MAINTAIN this balance? Well, keeping our eyes on one spot will help, like keeping our “eye on the prize”! Visualize a SHINING LIGHT at the end of the tightrope, a light that we so eagerly want to get closer to. However, this in an infinite tightrope, so do know that we will never reach the prize. The “prize” is simply a point of focus, and the reward stems from not an end result, but the JOY and FUN of maintaining our balance, and by being the STAR OF OUR OWN SHOW! People pay big money to see this, ya know!

Alright, so as we KEEP MOVING, focusing on the light, we realize we are somehow not getting closer to it, but we are actually IN the light. The SPOTLIGHT.
We ARE the light.

WOW. WE. ARE. THE. LIGHT.

Don’t fall!
But please know, falling off the rope is not a failure. We will not fall to our death, not ever, for there is always a net to catch us. There is always another chance to try again. But just like a traveling circus, THE SHOW MUST GO ON! There is no other option. Life keeps going. Move with it!

There is ALWAYS going to be a new show, a new audience, a fresh start. There is always going to be another chance to BE THE LIGHT!
For that is what WE are, and what WE always will be.